“Aww, baby, it’s gonna be okay. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Her mom rubbed her back, kneeling next to her chair.
“Mom! You can’t tell me it’s all right to fall in love upon sight!” Mak laughed.
“Yes I can. That’s what should happen in an ideal world. The person most perfect for you should ring a bell or two when you meet em’. The thing is, it’s in the gut. Most don’t listen to theirs. They hear their mind more than their body, but you have to be evenly yoked. God made people to hear him. It’s called instinct. Just listen to him, Makenzie, he never steers you wrong.”
Makenzie knew her mom dropped some major knowledge on her. She sat there silent, thinking.
Her mom had one other thing to say. “Regardless, you’re here, and we are gonna have a blast.”
The phone rang, breaking the spell. The time had come. She answered, “Hello?”
“Makenzie, you’ve been a bad girl. So you left my car?”
“Yeah, it’s at my place. Charli’s got the keys.”
“I hope you know this is not gonna work. When I see you, you’re in big trouble.”
Mak decided it was easier to play stupid. “I dunno what you’re talking about.”
“Yes you do.”
With that said, Charyn hung up the phone. Mak didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t run forever. She had to go home sometime. But she did need the time she allotted for herself just to figure out what she wanted. After twenty-four hours with no sign from Charyn, she relaxed, assuming that he would leave her be. Even still, the second day and night she spent ducking in and out, scared to leave the house. But there was no sign of the Hummer or Charyn.
The days with her mom were fun filled, but Mak had been going stir-crazy. She and her mom were only good for small bursts of time in confined spaces. After the newness of her visit would wear off, they’d bicker like siblings. They did everything they could to cram in as much as possible while they were together. They went to Carowinds Theme Park, they walked the university, and they went shopping. There was no escaping the reason she left. No matter where she went, she could smell him, Charyn. But after she didn’t see him anywhere, she just shrugged it off. Makenzie even went to the Dominican shop and had her hair blown out for the first time in a hot minute. The mass flowed to her bra hooks, and she even had a copper color highlighted in the front.
She felt better and was ready to start her painting. When they made it home, Makenzie pleaded a headache to her mom, who wanted to eat out and hit some poetry bar after. Her mom bounced off, happy to show off her new hair and nails, which were lacquered in gel. Mak painted all afternoon, long into the night. After midnight, her mom came home and, after a quick hug, sashayed to bed.
Mak was almost finished, but she struggled with the tug of one of his eyes. It kind of looked as if he were squinting or winking, rather than sleeping. She was disgusted and decided to work the rest of the surroundings and finish his face up later. Looking at Charyn’s sketch, she missed him. She missed his cock pummeling her inside out. So good, the flashbacks had her body begging, and she hadn’t come in days. The steady diet of orgasms was drug-like. Now she suffered from withdrawal, body craving his.
She went to her car, wanting silence, her only companions her imagination and the soundtrack of her moans. Makenzie definitely didn’t want her mother to hear. It was late, so no one should be awake to see her. She pulled her robe open, nude beneath, and imagined Charyn and their last night together. She remembered his fingers, his cock. She groaned, pinching a breast with the right hand. She used her left to stroke her clit, thumb and pointer tugging the flesh. Similar to stroking a small penis, the pleasing motions had her car rocking slightly in the driveway.
* * * *
Charyn saw the object of his desires leave the cozy nest she called home. She only wore a short robe, and his first thought was how dare she leave the house in the flimsy garment. For any roving-eyed Peeping Tom to see all of her charms, no, his charms. The blue robe was terrycloth, but even at the distance he was parked he could see the cloth was old and thin from countless washings. Her hair was different, and she looked well rested.
When she climbed in the car, he silently prayed for her to leave the driveway. If she did, game over. She was his, right now. But the car never moved, and he knew what she was up to. His woman had needs, and if her last days were like his, she was burning from the inside out. He could see she laid the seat back, but of course couldn’t watch her. The only clue as to what she was doing from his perspective was the rocking of the car. It was just a slight dip and bounce, but enough to let Charyn know instead of guess what she was doing in the confines of the small compact.
The last few days had been rough on him. His cock was painful and stayed hard for the last three days, and every woman he came across goggled when he went places. He had eyes for Makenzie only, wanting to lay in wait for the perfect time to catch her. He was going to show her who was boss, and it wasn’t her. He was in Charlotte when he called her, knew she had made it there. When he texted his brother, it was to send him to Charli, and he took Deven’s car from his house, a new yellow Challenger with black racing stripes. Due to the fact that she waited longer to leave than he estimated she would, he beat her there and spent a half hour cooling his heels and lying in wait.
He watched her leave the car, looking sated, straight hair skimming her back. Charyn was jealous as hell, wanted to pull the straightened mass while drilling her from behind. She was to receive all her pleasures with him. He wanted to tell her when she could come, withholding until she snapped. He saw her smile, closing the door, shutting him out. Yes, he knew it seemed crazy, but he knew she was his. No other woman could do, would do for him, now that he had her. Removing his cock, he stroked it. He tugged at his unending erection until he came, head leaned back and gritting his teeth. Charyn remembered the warning he gave her before he took her. He told her that once she made the choice to give in to him, he wasn’t going to allow her to take it back. Charyn made his way back to the penthouse suite he’d borrowed from an associate of his just for the purpose of catching his runaway woman, lingering on the thought that tonight was her last evening of purloined freedom. He sent Deven one last text message for the night, confirming his plans to recapture his wily woman were completed.
Just before dawn, Charyn left his hotel room the same way he exited it the last few days, cock hard and stiff. But today would end differently. Today she was coming home, with him. When Charyn showed up at Makenzie’s childhood home, he was ready. He sat there lost in thought, just up the street. A knock on the window broke his concentration. It was Ms. Stafford, and she was looking at him. He rolled the window down.
“Would you like to have a chat?” she said, eyes squinted in the early light.
“Yes, ma’am, I would.” He got out of the car, following her into the house. She took him to the back sunroom, screened in to keep the vermin out. She made a pot of coffee for him and tea for herself. He waited to see what she knew, and where she wanted their conversation to go. She didn’t waste time or mince words. But her tone was polite, in the way only a southern lady’s was.
“So, what is it you want from my daughter?” She was going to be his mother-in-law soon. No way could he say what was really on his mind.
“I want her to give us a chance.” He saw no need to prevaricate, and she would see through any lie he told. He could see that in her eyes, the same ones Mak would wear in her late years. So she got the abridged version, the only rendition acceptable to utter before the mother of his lover.
“Why do you want her? I’ve seen you every day since she got here. I knew you were here when you called Tuesday. You’re no spy. I know you were here before she was.”
“Yes, Ms. Stafford, I was. The morning Mak left, I knew she was going to go. She was skittish, and I wanted to give her just a bit of space. That’s why I didn’t approach her before. As to what I want from her, that’s simple. Everything. The same thing I want to
give her.”
“Hmm…I like you, Charyn. I knew there was something between you when I met you. Before you even came in the house, I could see something different in her. A possibility that was unlocked. But that doesn’t give you license to stalk people.”
“I know what it looks like, but I just couldn’t watch her walk away. She is mine, and I am hers,” Charyn said, speech simple.
“So what was your plan? I know you didn’t come here on a whim. Your type has plans for your backup plans.”
“Yes, and suffice to say, she’s going to understand that we belong together. No other, for me or her.”
Clapping, Sharon stood. “I think you should get the answers to why she left, the real reason. If things are going as I’m seeing them, you may as well call me mom.”
He grinned, standing.
* * * *
Makenzie woke, feeling better than she had in days. Her body felt less needy after the orgasm last night. When she rolled to the side and saw the time, she decided to get up before her mother came to do it. Lord knows her mom was a prankster and would wake her up with a pot of cold water or banging a pot and pan together. She lingered a few minutes in the shower, and chose not to dress for the moment. She was on vacation and may as well vegetate in her nightclothes as long as she could before going back to business casual when the doctor released her to go to work. Before padding downstairs, she tugged on her favorite robe and brushed her hair.
Charyn was sitting on the couch, like he was at home, when Mak came down. She thought she was dreaming, as she had for the last three days. Even when waking she imagined she saw him, so she walked past his mirage, through the kitchen. It wasn’t until she realized her imagination had added her ruined lace panties in his shirt pocket that she dropped the mug and walked back. He just looked at her, as if she were a naughty schoolgirl. He shook a finger at her, then stood up and escorted her back to the kitchen, seating her at the dinette set. He cleaned the broken mug off the floor in quick motions of a broom and dustpan. Finished, he strolled back and sat down, question in his eyes.
“Why did you leave me, Makenzie?”
“Because I was scared…I’m not looking for a grand passion, Charyn. I just wanted a normal life with a man that I would be okay living without if he left me.”
“You would walk from this? I never have met a more contradictory woman. In bed, you give me every fiber of passion you hold inside. Then hide your heart? Let me tell you a story.”
“Sure…”
“There was a girl named Tami. She was a socialite princess, spoiled beyond belief. She owned much and wanted more. When she met a man she wanted, she suckered him into proposing. She hid her real self, and everyone saw the snake under her skin but the man. One day she decided the man had served his purpose as arm candy, since he didn’t make a good lackey, and broke it off. Only she made the mistake of attempting to sleep with the man’s brother. The brothers patched their relationship, but it was never the same.”
“Oh wow…” what could she say to that? She knew as a rational adult all men were not her father. But her heart was much harder to convince to let go of the baggage from her past.
“Yeah, and if I’m willing, why can’t you be?”
“I just want to take it slow…”
“Nah, you just want a chance to build some bricks around that chip on your shoulder.”
“No…It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?” His brow was quirked once again. Damn, it seemed like she was always getting that look for one reason or another. But she mulishly kept silent, as nothing she said would satisfy him. “Nothing to say, Makenzie, cat got your tongue?”
Fuck. She was in trouble. In for a penny, in for a pound, and Charyn seemed like he was ready for his due. She looked away from him and pretended to be lost in thought, hoping vainly some excuse could come to mind to save her skin. Instead of excuses, when she looked up she told him the truth.
“If you make me fall for you and leave, you would be all right. Charyn, you could have any woman you want. Why me? What makes me so special that you would stay by my side and be content with just me for a lifetime? There are thousands of normal couples who can’t keep it together. The seven-year itch is down to three now. So tell me what you want, and let’s see if I’ll believe it after only a week.”
His face was incredulous, and Makenzie saw a flash of anger for the first time in his eyes.
“Makenzie, you think so little of me, of yourself? You are beautiful in every way possible. You made my heart beat again, when I walked around like the living dead for years. What gave you the idea that I am not man enough to know when I’ve met The One?”
He thought she was The One?
What was so bad was that she sensed the same. Makenzie felt her heart stutter and resume beating. The pace of the skipping organ was ridiculous, and she was sure she was seconds from having a stroke. The idea of a soul mate in this day and age was ridiculous, that was a fairy tale spun for little girls.
She scooted her chair back too quickly and nearly fell backwards. Charyn’s quick reflexes saved her from injury by halting the tumble with a hand catching the chair midway. She still scrambled from the seat and he followed her, stalking her as she backpedaled across the kitchen. When she was trapped with her back to the wall, he plastered his frame against hers and clenched the freshly straightened hair in one fist, arching her head back. He left her nowhere to look but at him.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
But she was saved from responding when she heard her mother, chirping about upstairs. She was louder than normal, and Makenzie assumed it was to warn them she was planning on coming downstairs. Charyn released the hank of hair he clutched and backed up two steps, just enough to give a pretense of respectability, though not enough to break the invasion of her personal space. Moments later, her mom walked down and raised an eyebrow. She hugged Mak and Charyn both, claiming she had an early appointment. For what, Mak would love to know. They made plans to go to the nursery for a cherry blossom tree seedling and mulch. But that was it. She looked at her mom, and Mak saw her wink before she shut the front door behind her.
What was she going to do now? Even her mother approved of the man.
* * * *
Charyn watched Makenzie fidget her hands nervously. He was glad she understood the severity of the situation. Especially after the wink Ms. Stafford made on her exit, showing her daughter that she gave him the USDA stamp of approval. He watched her pick at her invisible hangnail and sip distractedly at her coffee. When she sipped the last dregs, he stood, and motioned for her to do the same. Since Makenzie’s mom was kind enough to leave them alone, he could get started with a reprimand for her bad behavior. He walked her to the back of the house to the sunroom. He sat her on the wicker chaise, pulling a scarf from his pocket. He pulled it around her eyes, tying it in back of her head, stating only, “Your punishment starts now and will last until sunrise on Monday.”
He stepped away, watching her fidget, and Makenzie showed her nerves were getting to her as she bit a pinky nail to a near-raw nub. He just watched her for five minutes, letting her get used to being blind. She started chewing on the thumbnail as Charyn walked to the chaise and slung her over one shoulder. She gasped and shuddered against him. Yes, the move was caveman, but in the moment Charyn was closer to that than twenty-first-century male.
He took her outside, letting the weak warmth from the sun tingle against their skin. An oak tree along the six-foot-tall fence had a perfect branch, and inspiration hit. A handful of swipes from his Swiss Army knife presented him with a slim switch. He sat on a bench by the small group of dogwoods in the back and positioned her over his knee.
“Do you know why we are here, Makenzie?”
“I left?”
“Close. Not only did you run from me, but you lied to me, and came without me present last night.”
“I didn’t lie to—how did you know about last night?”
> “You lied to me by omission. Remember one thing if nothing else Makenzie. I know everything, especially when it comes to you. Do you remember your safe word?”
“Yes, asparagus.”
“Good. You were going to get fifteen strikes, five for each day you were away. But your poor response just now has earned you another five.”
Makenzie trembled, goose bumps raised, and he noted the rash of prickled skin covered most her body. Exactly what he was looking for. Charyn wanted her just a hair afraid. She’d earned it. If she knew what was good for her, she would beg him, starting now, for alms. Although at this point she wasn’t getting any of his cock, if it weren’t for the little control he had left he’d fuck her blind, deaf, dumb, and stupid. Lord knows, he had been hard for so many long hours. To be exact, he’d waited nearly eighty torturous, blue-balled, stiff hours for this. If he wasn’t careful, he may just break down and fuck her like a starving animal anyway. Any patience he had was at an end. In fact, he expended the remaining shred on her mother. If nothing else, Ms. Sharon was a cool customer, and as a grown man it was humbling.
“And you cannot come. Do you understand, Makenzie?”
“Yes, master, I do.”
Charyn was so grateful he had her back in his arms that he only stroked her skin at first. Tugging the worn robe upwards, her ass angled across his lap. She was so beautiful, and he couldn’t help but admire every curve of her toasted brown skin. After he reacquainted himself with the feel of her, he started the first in a long list of punishments she’d earned the last days.
He knew the first strike came out of nowhere for her. As the last time, her response was hungry even through the pain of her punishment. Makenzie bucked on his lap, and the heat from her pussy licked at his thigh. His cock was straining the fabric of his pants painfully and digging into her belly. Charyn watched her squirm blindly into his erection and knew she was as desperate for him as he was for her. Good. He wanted her to realize what she was attempting to throw away.
Willows, Jennifer - Bound by Accident [Moreland Brothers 1] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 15
